Leather....

I have been conducting experiments of the leather variety trying to come up with a bracelet design that I just love. 

Sample 1:

 This is my first try.  I made it to close at 7 1/2" and 8 1/2".  I had thought that making it versatile would be good, but on second thought I think they should be made as close to the actual wrist size as possible.  I can live with the doubled up section, but I'm not really loving it. 

I have always been particular about my bracelets.  I like them to fit not tight, but not loose. The 7 1/2" closure works perfectly for me. 

I also think the snaps would fit a bit better if the beaded border wasn't there.

Overall, the design is a keeper.  I've been wearing it all day and love it more and more.  I just need to make a few adjustments here and there.  I'm also considering making it more like a bangle bracelet.  I'm thinking I could let it dry on my bracelet mandrel after stamping it, and it should retain the round shape.  We shall see.  More experiments to come.  Give me some feedback please!  What do you all think? 

And..  I finished the rugged little leather butterflies.  I picked these up off of the clearance table when I went to Tandy a couple of weeks ago.  I could not love them more!  These are perfect for summer.  I picture them with sundresses!  :-)

Rugged Butterfly with Turquoise

Snow White & Rose Red ~ Fresh Water Pearl and Ruby

Buttercup ~ Carnelian and Calcite

Bluebell ~ Lapis and Kyanite

These have all fluttered into my Etsy Shop.  And they are included in my 20% off sale.  The prices may not be updated yet.  I am trying out Etsy on Sale, and it is supposed to update my new listings to be included in the sale. 

That's it for me today!  See you all again soon...  :-)

TGIF!

These purply blossoms bloom in our front yard every year. They are my absolute favorites, they attract every butterfly from miles around. Or perhaps it just seems that way. I don't know what kind of butterfly this is, but we get these visitors every year as well. I love the dots of blue and orange against black wings.

TGIF!! I love Friday. It always has such a good feeling for me. I always try to cut myself a little slack on Fridays when we don't have anything that we have to do. Since I like to run errands on Friday, it is also the perfect excuse to do a little shopping as well. Nothing big slated for today. I've bribed the girls into cleaning their play room, so that will involve a little trip to the toy store. They want some little animals that move around like the Zhou Zhou hamsters. It really is a rare treat for them to get to go to the toy store for themselves. I'm usually more likely to talk them into getting books or art and craft stuff.

I need to hit Target for some essentials, and Central Market since I'm out of my very favorite Brown Cow blueberry yogurt. Probably should get ribs for the 4th of July cook out. Nothing too exciting today, but it does feel good to get out and about....

I'm working on a fleur de lis ring. At least I think it will be a ring. Or perhaps a pendant. We shall see. I also ordered some lovely greek leather that came in yesterday. The first time I saw "Greek Leather" being advertised like it was something really great, I thought "What, Greek cows are better than American cows or what?" And then I bought some leather cord from Tandy Leather.

Now mind you, Tandy has some great products. The store I went to in Ft. Worth didn't have the best selection, and they only had the 1 mm leather cord. I found out later that the reason everyone loves the Greek Leather is because it is stronger. Yeah, I kinda found that out the hard way....and, that 1 mm cord is just too thin. But, live and learn. So, anyway, this Greek Leather is wonderful. I'm hoping to get a chance to work with it this weekend. I have bracelet and necklace designs floating around in my head.

Well, I hope you all enjoy this lovely Friday, I sure plan to!